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An even smaller number (2 per cent) said they logged off because they preferred face-to-face contact to socialising online.

The most common reason given for taking a break was that they were just too busy, with 20 per cent saying they did not have the time to log on.

Ten per cent said just didn’t like it, and another 10 per cent said they thought it was a waste of time.

Most, but not all, return to the site. Twenty per cent of online adults that do not currently use Facebook say they once used the site but no longer do.

There are signs that the site may be losing some of its appeal. Just under a third (28 per cent) of users say Facebook is less important to them than it was a year ago, and just over a third (34 per cent) say they spend less time on it than they did a year ago.

Among 18 to 29-year-olds, 42 per cent said the amount of time they spend on the site in a typical day has decreased in the last 12 months.

The survey was conducted in December and based on a sample of 1,006 American adults aged 18 and over. The Pew Research Center is a non-partisan think tank based in Washington.